Options for historic hall to be used by community

The oldest parts of Hopwood Hall in Middleton date from the 1420s

A study to develop options for the future of a Grade II-listed hall will look at how it can be brought back into use to benefit the community.

It follows the end of an exclusivity agreement between Rochdale Council and the US actor Hopwood DePree, whose ancestors once lived at Hopwood Hall in Middleton.

The authority will spend £100,000 on the feasibility study and £600,000 on roof repairs in the spring of 2025.

The council said the building was "very important" and the study would "explore all options for its future".

The council is carrying out negotiations with partners, like Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as the restoration work goes on.

Councillor Danny Meredith, the cabinet member for regeneration at Rochdale Borough Council, said: "As owners of a building which means so much to our residents, we have a duty to explore all options and we’ve not been able to do this under the terms of the recently lapsed agreement".

Hopwood DePree moved to Rochdale in 2017 to lead the restoration of his ancestral home

Hopwood DePree swapped Los Angeles for Rochdale in 2017 after discovering the Grade II-listed building had been in his family for about 400 years.

When the exclusivity agreement was not renewed seven years later, Mr DePree claimed Rochdale Council had "pulled the rug from under him".

The council said Mr DePree did not have a "viable" plan for the future of the building.

The country house has 60 rooms, some with big chunks of floor and ceiling missing.

About £1.7m in grants from the council and heritage bodies like Historic England have been invested in repairs and renovations since 2017.

The feasibility study is set to be commissioned in 2025 and the council is looking for a specialist contractor, who will carry out the roof repairs.